What was the ultimate message of Donnie Darko? Richard Kelly’s 2001 cult classic starring Jake Gyllenhaal introduced the world to an edgy combination of teen angst, giant rabbit hallucinations, and time travel. It tells the story of troubled teenager Donnie Darko who is tasked with saving the universe. So for all its confusion and ambiguity and humanoid rabbits, what major takeaways did Donnie leave us with?
Transcript
What was the ultimate message of Donnie Darko? Richard Kelly’s 2001 cult classic introduced the world to an edgy combination of teen angst, giant rabbit hallucinations, and time travel. It tells the story of troubled teenager Donnie Darko who is tasked with saving the universe.
Guided by Frank, an undead man in a giant rabbit suit, he grapples with themes like life, death, purpose, and loneliness while also managing his deteriorating mental health.
“I don’t want to be alone.” - Donnie, Donnie Darko
So for all its confusion and ambiguity and humanoid rabbits, what major takeaways did Donnie leave us with? Here’s our take on the Meaning of Life According to Donnie Darko.
“Life isn’t that simple.” - Donnie, Donnie Darko
The Meaning of Life: Accept Your Destiny
“It was as though this plan had been with him all his life…” - Karen Pomeroy, Donnie Darko
Do we truly have control over our lives?
The idea of determinism – that free will is an illusion and all our actions are actually caused by internal and external forces beyond our control – has been debated by philosophers (in different terminology) all the way back to Ancient Greece. And neuroscientists have been exploring the same question since 1983, when Benjamin Libet proposed that our unconscious brains make decisions before we consciously decide to act, a hypothesis that scientifically challenges the very existence of rational, free will.
“If we were able to see our destinies manifest themselves visually, then we would be given a choice to betray our chosen destinies.” - Professor Kenneth Monnitoff, Donnie Darko
While movies typically underline messages of agency and making our own way, a central theme of Donnie Darko is actually our lack of free will. At points, Donnie has the power to literally see people’s destined paths in the form of a liquid spear protruding from the chest. According to director Richard Kelly, these spears represent predestination or the idea that we are not truly in control of our own destiny. Donnie himself appears to believe that our fate is up to God or the universe.
“Well, if God controls time, then all time is pre-decided. Then every living thing follows along a set path.” - Donnie, Donnie Darko
The film repeatedly toys with this notion, showing us that there is a connection between all the events in Donnie’s life, as story details repeat and foreshadow each other. Graham Greene’s The Destructors, a book Donnie reads in English class, is about a gang of schoolboys destroying an old house by flooding it. Later, Donnie goes on to flood the school and destroy Jim Cunningham’s house.
“Well, they say it right when they flood the house and they tear it to shreds that like, destruction is a form of creation.” - Donnie, Donnie Darko
Grandma Death, a mysterious old woman living in the town, checks her mail every day as if she’s waiting for the letter that Donnie writes to her at the end of the movie. Donnie’s gym teacher, Mrs. Farmer, leads her class in a frustrating and overly simplistic exercise called the Life Line, where she asked Donnie to plot a character dilemma about a missing wallet along an axis from fear to love.
“Ling Ling finds a wallet on the ground filled with money. She takes it to the address on the driver’s license but keeps the money inside the wallet.” - Donnie, Donnie Darko
Later in the film, Donnie finds a wallet on the ground that belongs to Jim Cunningham, the motivational speaker who wrote the book on the Life Line. And when Jim Cunningham gives a talk at Donnie’s school, he tells the story of a boy whose life was destroyed by fear –
“His name was Frank.” - Jim Cunningham, Donnie Darko
– the same name as the six-foot-tall rabbit that warns Donnie about the end of the world.
On the same night that a jet engine mysteriously falls from the sky and crashes into Donnie’s bedroom, Frank lures a sleep-walking Donnie from his bed to tell him about the world’s impending end.
“28 days, six hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds. That is when the world will end.” - Frank, Donnie Darko
As he continues to appear in Donnie’s life, Frank starts to make cryptic and severe demands of Donnie, never offering an explanation. Donnie questions and grows frustrated with these orders, but nevertheless, he obeys them, illustrating his lack of free will.
Although it’s Donnie who floods the school, sets fire to Jim Cunningham’s house, and even shoots Frank, Donnie is both subtly and explicitly guided by Frank towards every decision he makes. And these decisions lead him toward his destiny: Donnie bonds with Gretchen as a direct consequence of the flooding Frank told him to do.
Donnie: “Well, I’m really glad school was flooded today.”
Gretchen: “Why is that?”
Donnie: “Because you and I’d have never had this conversation.”
- Donnie Darko
And after Frank tells Donnie to set fire to Jim’s house, it’s only because Jim got arrested that Donnie and his sister are home alone to throw the Halloween party that sets off the film’s bloody climax.
Donnie Darko is a cult classic in part because there are so many ways to interpret the story of the film, but one of the most common readings – and the one the director’s cut seems to favor – is that it’s the story of how Donnie Darko saves the world. In that reading, the universe is at risk of fracturing apart when Donnie inadvertently spins off an alternate reality the night that the jet engine crashes into his room. The director’s cut of the film includes excerpts from Roberta Sparrow’s The Philosophy of Time Travel, the book that Donnie’s physics teacher gives him.
The pages of her book detail the exact process by which this alternative universe, or “Tangent Universe”, is created, via a metal object (like a jet engine) that she calls an Artifact Vessel. Her book explains that in order to restore balance to the timeline and eliminate the Tangent Universe, Donnie must realign his reality with the original, primary universe. In that timeline, when the jet engine crashed in the night, it killed Donnie in his sleep. So in order to restore balance to the universe, Donnie needs to die.
In that interpretation of the story, Donnie isn’t merely wrestling with the idea of free will – he’s facing the objective reality that he really does have one pre-destined path in life, and diverging from it isn’t just morally wrong; it could bring about the end of the world. By even unintentionally veering from his predetermined path in life, Donnie nearly rips a hole in the fabric of reality.
We learn at the end of the movie that Frank isn’t actually a malignant or demonic force – he is just another kid, one who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. In the climactic Halloween scene, Frank and his friend unintentionally hit Gretchen with their car and kill her. In response, Donnie shoots Frank dead in a moment of passion. Even though he knows that timeline ends with his own death, this dead version of Frank accepts his destiny as predetermined, and understands that trying to change it wouldn’t just be futile – it would be apocalyptic.
And Donnie, by the end of the film, also seems to take comfort in his destiny. In the film’s conclusion, after seeing Donnie so unhappy for so long, we finally see him laughing just before the jet engine from the original timeline ends his life. He accepts that his path is out of his control and chooses to trust the plan of God – or the universe – or a six-foot-tall ghostly rabbit.
“I hope that when the world comes to an end I can breathe a sigh of relief because there will be so much to look forward to.” - Donnie, Donnie Darko
The Meaning of Life: Accept the Complexity
As Donnie grapples with these questions about destiny and free will throughout the movie, he exhibits traits of nihilism – the belief that life is meaningless and nothing matters. As Donnie demonstrates, it’s easy to feel like there’s no point to life when your destiny is part of a fixed path that you can’t control or purposefully influence.
Dr. Lillian Thurman: “The search for God is absurd?”
Donnie: “It is if everyone dies alone.”
- Donnie Darko
But one of the movie’s points is that life’s answers aren’t so simple. On the other end of the spectrum, Mrs. Farmer is obsessed with viewing all the choices we make in life through the narrow lens of Jim Cunningham’s Life Line. When she brings Jim Cunningham into the school to promote his false binary of everything in life being defined by either love or fear, Donnie sees through his superficial ideology. Empowered by his nihilistic worldview, Donnie has mental clarity – he’s not afraid to face that life could be meaningless and, to be honest, that these comforting lies people tell themselves might be garbage. This frees him up to call Jim Cunningham out to his face.
“Are you telling us this stuff so we can buy your book? Because I got to tell you, if you are, that was some of the worst advice I’ve ever heard.” - Donnie, Donnie Darko
But Donnie doesn’t give into full nihilism.
Even as Donnie reckons with the possibility that life has no meaning, he still finds moments of joy. He makes jokes with his friends, enjoys his relationship with Gretchen, and does things that make him happy, despite knowing that the universe is about to end. Donnie Darko teaches us that even if it turns out life has no one meaning, we can still have a good time, care for each other – and make our own meaning – while we’re alive.
The Meaning of Life: Make Life Better for Others
While he may be a nihilist, a hedonist, and a typical angsty, existential teenager, Donnie cares deeply for those around him. This is especially clear in his relationship with Gretchen – when she needs him to be there for her, he’s there. He doesn’t pressure her or try to take advantage of her like Seth and Ricky. Donnie’s goal in their relationship is simply to make Gretchen happy, to make her feel supported, and to make her feel loved.
At the end of the film, after Gretchen is killed in the car accident with Frank, Donnie makes the ultimate sacrifice for her, killing himself so that she can live. His decision to rebalance the universe and save the world is driven by his desire to save Gretchen.
Gretchen shows the same love, care, and support for Donnie throughout their relationship, even when she doesn’t really understand what he’s going through. She also calls out Donnie’s nihilistic attitude, pushing him to find meaning in his own life and in caring for others.
“These rabbits can talk, they are the product of the author’s imagination. And he cares for them, so we care for them. Otherwise, we’ve just missed the point.” - Gretchen, Donnie Darko
In fact, Donnie is given lots of support and affirmation throughout the film, sometimes from unexpected sources. Even though his parents don’t understand him in classic teen movie fashion, and don’t always know the best way to address his mental illness, their love for him never wavers. And while Donnie might not always accept their love, their unconditional support and care help him enjoy his life. They validate his feelings and ask for nothing in return – which teaches Donnie how to love others, even when he has difficulties loving himself.
Donnie: “How’s it feel to have a wacko for a son?”
Rose Darko: “It feels wonderful.”
Donnie’s therapist also shows genuine care for Donnie – a notable contrast to the common trope of the antagonistic or manipulative psychiatrist.
Even Frank, the spookiest character who gives off the fearsome energy of a supernaturally dark, antagonistic force, turns out to be simply doing what is necessary to save the universe – ultimately his is a radical act of love.
Sacrifice for others is so at the heart of Donnie Darko that some interpret the story as a Christ narrative.
Donnie’s journey towards saving the universe has biblical elements: characters coming back from the dead, Donnie’s supernatural abilities, and Frank’s supernatural apparition and prophecies. Jim Cunningham even plays the role of a false prophet.
“I think you’re the f**king anti-christ” - Donnie, Donnie Darko
Much like the story of Christ, Donnie Darko is a tale of sacrifice and love – like Jesus, Donnie dies to bring salvation to humanity. And much like Jesus, in the face of certain death, Donnie still is able to find purpose; his purpose in life is to trust in God’s plan and to save others by sacrificing himself.
At the end of the film, Donnie restores the timeline – we go back to the morning of the jet engine incident and Donnie is found crushed to death under the weight of the engine. The timeline resets to before Donnie even met Gretchen, before most of the events of the film. But Donnie’s love and care for others still reverberate through to the primary universe. Gretchen bikes by, drawn to Donnie’s house despite never having met him. Donnie’s teachers, who he grew close with, seem to sense his loss. And Cherita Chen, the victim of merciless bullying who developed a crush on Donnie and took comfort in the kindness he showed her, wakes up smiling. Donnie’s choice to offer kindness had a lasting impact, even across timelines and universes. Care and love matter, even when it feels like your life doesn’t.
Conclusion
Donnie Darko raises difficult questions about morality, life’s purpose, and who we are. Director Richard Kelly is adamant that there’s no one true interpretation of Donnie Darko. There are nearly as many fan theories as there are fans: some purport Donnie was dead the whole time, others see it as the story of a mental health crisis, and some even say the characters were being controlled by aliens the whole time.
Its supernatural elements, creepy rabbit, and time loops may be far from most of our personal experiences, but Donnie’s fears of loneliness, his disillusioned attitude towards society, and his struggle with mental health are things many people can relate to. So Donnie’s ability to find meaning and purpose in the face of an unchangeable destiny is inspiring to anyone who has ever felt unsure of what to do in their life.
“You know what? No one ever knows what they want to be when they grow up. You know, it takes a little– a little while to find that out.” - Donnie, Donnie Darko
The film teaches us that the meaning of life might not always seem clear, and maybe it’s pointless to try and find one definitive answer. But even if we aren’t truly in control of our own lives, what we can control is how we make other people feel. If we can do good for others, maybe we can give life meaning – and if there is a larger plan or “right” path to follow, hopefully, that’s a sign we’re on it.
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